Spending time in the kitchen, preparing food alongside your children, is quality time at its finest. Characters in children's books about cooking share a passion for learning how to prepare all kinds of delicious meals, desserts, and delicacies from scratch. There are teaching moments for little chefs just learning some fundamental skills about setting the right oven temperature, slicing and dicing vegetables, measuring ingredients, and mixing batter. Kids with more advanced culinary kids may be learning how to prepare family recipes that have been passed down through generations. They experiment with new ingredients, start businesses, experience failure, and ultimately learn lots of lessons working with food.
A delicious read for the 8+ crowd packed with themes around mystery, friendship, family...and baking! Aunt Polly, who has kept the family's award-winning pie crust recipe under lock and key, passes away and, leaves the list of secret ingredients to her cat. Her niece, Alice, is left with the feisty cat in her care, thrusting her into the center of attention in a town obsessed with pies. With an upcoming pie-baking contest on the horizon, lots of folks are scheming to get their hands on the beloved recipe, a surefire way to win the blue ribbon. Budding bakers will devour this fast-paced novel and will likely find some inspiration for creating their own secret pie recipes.
Children's Picture Books About Cooking and Baking
Know a kid who wants to get a little creative in the kitchen? There are an abundance of fun cookbooks for kids, chock full of child-friendly recipes that teach them the fundamentals of baking and show them how to prepare mouth-watering snacks, meals, and desserts. So many of these books include healthy ingredient lists, like the ones found in the stories about apples.
We've gathered together some amazing children's books about baking, most of which have recipes so kids can make the same food as the characters in the books. After reading the stories on this list, be sure to check out the best tales about healthy eating to learn more about how to add more nutrition in a little one's diet.
Kids' Books About Characters Who Cook
Children will learn all sorts of information about the quality of ingredients, and how to prepare food for family members with specific needs. For example, there are lots of lessons about food allergies that provide tips for cooking recipes safe for everyone. There are also tender tales of generations sharing a common bond stirring, mixing, tasting, experimenting, and making memories creating delicious food together. For example, stories about cookies share heartwarming stories about children who cook alongside parents and grandparents, spending precious moments cooking meals together. Regardless of the difficulty, coming together in the kitchen is an activity that bonds the youngest to eldest chefs as they prepare something delicious to share. Here are the best kids' books about cooking to pique the interest of budding chefs.
Thunder Cake
Patricia Polacco is a beloved storyteller who delivers a mouth-watering book about a grandmother's highly unique cake recipe, specifically the exact time this cake needs to be baked. Drawing from her experiences as a child, the author tells the tale of a little girl who is terrified of thunder storms. To help divert her attention away from the loud claps of thunder, her Babushka instructs her to hurriedly gather a (long) list of (hard-to-find) ingredients for a cake the absolutley must be baked before the storm arrives. A fun sense of urgency from start to finish, with a must-try cake recipe at the very end!
The Bake Shop Ghost
A common characteristic amongst expert bakers is pride and ownership in their work. In a haunting story, perfect for Halloween or really any time of the year, the original owner of a bakery has made it her ghostly mission to obstruct new bakers from inhabiting her shop. Miss Cora Lee was known for making the most delicious pies and cakes, and no one was going to supersede her reputation. After successfully managing to scare away some timid newcomers, a baker armed with equal parts courage and finesse in the kitchen finally moves into the space. A lengthy, satisfying picture book that will motivate little readers to roll up their sleeves and get baking!
The Truth About Twinkie Pie
This YA novel has all the ingredients even adults will enjoy consuming. A couple of sisters (one a brainiac, the other a middle school drop-out) win a substantial prize (a million bucks!) in a national baking contest. This money secures a move from a trailer park to a swanky new neighborhood, along with a fancy school, and a different social circle that comes with the territory. Lots of tricky, emotional topics ranging from dysfunctional family to teenage drama are woven into an impressive book about a secret recipe that changes everything.
Chicks and Salsa
Ole! A group of resourceful chickens are fed up with the same old chicken feed. They take matters into their own hands, and with the help of some savory ingredients from the nearby garden, they whip up a flavorful feast. Their plans for a large-scale fiesta, however, are foiled when the farmers use up the last bit of flavorful garden food. But never fear. Our ingenius cluckers find new ways to breathe life into their mealtime. A colorful, fun read aloud that pairs perfectly with a helping of chips and salsa. And don't forget to test the recipe in the back!
Bee-Bim Bop!
A traditional Korean recipe of rice mixed with vegetables and meat is the main course in this rhythmic book for foodies. A little girl accompanies her mother to the store to purchase all the ingredients needed for this delicious recipe. Then they get to work preparing the food, setting the table, and sitting down as a femily to enjoy a meal together. A fabulous recipe is included for your enjoyment!
Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes
A highly imaginative, often grotesque, and outrageously funny foodie book by Roald Dahl. Pulling together recipes for interesting food introduced in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and some of his other works, this "recipe" book offers plenty of opportunity for experimentation. Some of these dishes may seem downright disgusting, but daring chefs willing to give them a chance may find they are quite edible. A fun book to give to any kid who is expressing an interest in cooking!
Julia, Child
Based on what we imagine the beloved foodie extraordinaire must have been like as a little girl. A young Julia and her best friend are wise beyond their years, for they know that there is no such thing as too much butter. They also understand that childhood must be savored. In a positively delightful book packed with friendship and food, this picture book is the perfect bookshelf addition to budding bakers.
How to Make and Apple Pie and See the World
Eager little bakers will enjoy the apple pie recipe in the back of this book. But not until after they join a girl on her journey around the world to procure the freshest, highest quality ingredients. Adventure and food make a perfect match in this whimsical, delightfully illustrated book that will make your mouth water.
Bliss
A scrumptious chapter book with a dose magic and mystery around a highly guarded book of family recipes. The secret book is of little interest to a couple of young girls until their curiosity is piqued by a motorcycle-riding aunt who arrives out of the blue one day. They decide to dust off the heirloom and experiment in the kitchen with some of these recipes that have been kept secret for good reason! Humor, action, silliness, and family fun are packed into this entertaining book for kids who have a penchant for making good food.
The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred
A vibrantly illustrated, bouncy book featuring a farm maiden who makes the most delicious rice pudding for a fiesta. WIth the help of all the farm animals in a true team effort, the final product is truly mouth watering. Spanish terminology mixed into the book adds a nice cultural touch to a book about a popular native dish- Arroz con Leche. Ambitious little chefs will enjoy following the recipe in the back.
Everything on a Waffle
A scrumptious chapter book for the 8+ crowd ready to get cooking. The cover alone is enough to make you hungry! This book, however, is much more than a story about a large pile of delicious breakfast food. It's the tale of an 11 year old girl whose parents are supposedly lost at sea. She becomes the burden of a small town council that ultimately assigns her care to an uncle. The one place she finds comfort amid is a charming restaurant that serves every kind of food imaginable atop waffles.
Growing Vegetable Soup
Teach your child all about the process of growing fresh vegetables in the garden. A bold picture book for children will show them all the work involved from preparing the soil, planting the seeds, weeding the garden, and ultimately harvesting fresh produce. A delicious vegetable soup recipe is included.
Pancakes for Breakfast
A wordless, classic picture book by Tomie dePaola will have your young child laughing out loud. Something as simple as making pancakes is a major ordeal for a little, old lady. Between some key, missing ingredients and some pets who are less-than-helpful, follow along to see the end result.
Whopper Cake
What happens when Grandad decides he wants to make the biggest cake ever to celebrate Grandmom's birthday? You guessed it! A whopper cake is born, and with it comes an even bigger mess. A fun, over-the-top backing extravaganza with a most delicious chocolate cake recipe for anyone ambitious enough to make a gigantic dessert.
Cranberry Thanksgiving
A classic, endearing Thanksgiving story with a delicious cranberry bread recipe that should be added to your feast this year. In this story, a grandmother and granddaughter each invite a new guest to celebrate Thanksgiving with them each year. Their invitations are always extended to poor, lonely people who don't have anyone else to join on this holiday. Find out what happens when the granddaughter invites an "unsavory" guest (according to grandma) and whether she can prevent her secret cranberry bread recipe from being stolen.
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Why Read to Your Kids About Cooking
Is your kid a certified foodie? A young child with a strong interest in learning how to cook, bake or otherwise prepare delicious food? Reading children's books about cooking is a great way to cultivate this healthy hobby. Spending time in the kitchen with your children is an incredibly bonding experience. It's a chance to put all of life's stress on the back burner and focus on following a recipe to a tea or the art of creating delicious variations for everyone to enjoy. Next up, read about pizza and test out the recipes in the back of the book.
Add More Delicious Books to Your Story Time
